Northrop P-61 Black Widow Night Fighter

A Black Widow patrols evening skies tinged with red remnants of the evening light. Perhaps she has found prey; the right wing's spoiler is up as she banks to the right and the turret gun seems to have found a target. "Moon Happy" in this beautiful Koike painting was from the Army Air Force's 6th Night Fighter Squadron and on June 30, 1944 became the first P-61 to score a kill, shooting down a Type 1 Land Based Bomber ("Betty") over Saipan. The nose art was later repainted to that of a woman as shown in the painting. P-61s, known for their signature all-black scheme, were initially marked in the olive drab over gray seen here. Koike's portrayal of the delicate color variations in the markings in this lighting are, as usual, superb. "It's hard to imagine something this large as a fighter, but it's a plane I like," says Koike.